URBIUM SET FOR A ROARING XMAS

Don't think this has been posted before, apologies if it has.

With thanks to Tokenhouse of aii board:


Eating out - Tiger Tiger Dec 20 2002

By Nick Woods, The Journal


Tiger Tiger
The Gate
Newgate Street
Newcastle
Tel: 0191 235 7065

There's much to enjoy in The Gate, the new US-style urban entertainment complex in Newgate Street, but don't be so bamboozled by the plethora of bars as to miss a classy restaurant that makes for a lovely night out.

Before you enter Tiger Tiger, I recommend a relaxing cocktail in the Tiger Bar where you can lounge in the plush, Conran-style chairs in very warm colours, deep red and beige.

Then, with a nice dry Martini, vodka and tonic or glass of Champagne inside you, make your way through the glass double doors where a restaurant manager will greet you.

Coats are taken - the service is excellent - and you are escorted to your table which is pleasantly decorated with a crisp white cloth and an elegant stem in a glass.

The tables are situated on two levels in a large open-plan and airy setting which is always welcome, particularly on a special night out. As this was a birthday celebration, a quiet dinner for two was required.

There is wooden flooring with red walls and subtle ethnic hangings. A pot of large bamboo canes stands next to a central pillar.

The raised level at the back has a blue backdrop with a row of mirrors at an angle so you can see what other people are eating.

I think that area is being reserved for big parties during the festive season. Fortunately we were away from any unwanted noise in a quite table in the corner on the lower level.

We were offered bread - the freshest I have tasted in years - and olives as an entree (£1.75) as we sat down. The wine, a Laquete Chardonnay (£2.95 per glass), was refreshingly dry with no unnecessary fruit flavours to ruin the tongue.

For starters we chose roast pumpkin and split pea soup which came with roasted caraway seeds and grissini bread sticks (£3.95) and smoked chicken, bell pepper and baby spinach salad, with crispy bacon, French beans and feta cheese (£5.10).

The soup was delicious, perfect winter fare and excellent consistency, not too thick, not too thin, while the bread sticks were a worthy accompaniment.

My partner chose the salad, which was well-presented with succulent chicken and a perfect combination of flavours.

For a main course I opted for potato, roast shallot and cheddar cheese strudel with a mild mustard and chive sauce (£8.25) which was again perfect for the season, full of flavour, though I think the mustard could have been slightly hotter.

The second dish was char-grilled sirloin steak with roast garlic mushrooms, chips and green peppercorn jus (£12.95). It was ordered well-done which is how it arrived.

Both dishes were served with new potatoes, which were very more-ish, and seasonal vegetables - so you can imaging the veritable feast that was served up.

As a result, the dessert was shared. We chose one chocolate nut fudge brownie with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream (£4.25), as comforting as it sounds.

The total bill came to £48.40, which included a 10pc service charge, slightly confusing as the folder the bill comes in mentions an "optional" charge, which I noticed the following day.

I prefer to decide myself whether a service charge has been earned, but I paid it and then added on a fiver for the efficient and extremely attentive waiting team who well deserved a Christmas bonus. So £53.40 all in. It was a grand winter meal in a great setting and one of my most enjoyable dinners in Newcastle to date.

There is only one other place in the city I still hold in higher esteem, which it would be unfair to mention here, but Tiger Tiger is not far off and definitely has teeth.

I, for one, can't wait for an excuse to return.